Health Effects Of Sweeteners

Sugar is sweet, but the extra calories it contains are often unwelcome. The calorie-conscious thus turn to artificial sweeteners: Non-nutritive products that contain low or no calories. However, nowadays with rumors swirling about the potential dangers of popular sugar substitutes, choosing a product can be troubling — but not for long .

It’s time to dispel myths and focus on the facts of sugar substitutes as we take a long, hard look at the health effects of sweeteners.

Saccharin

Products: Hermesetas, Sweet'N Low, Sugar TwinSweetness: 300 times sweeter than sugarPregnancy: Avoid when pregnantFun fact: Saccharin has been banned as a food additive (but not as a tabletop sweetener) from Canada since the '70s.

Discovered in 1879, saccharin is the oldest of sugar substitutes; however, its use only became widespread following the sugar shortage during World War II. While early lab studies showed that saccharin caused cancer in rats, numerous organizations, including the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the U.S. National Toxicology Program, have since removed saccharin from their list of suspected cancer-causing chemicals. Their reasoning: The process by which saccharin causes cancer in rats is not applicable to humans.

Aspartame

Products: Equal, NutraSweet, CanderelSweetness: 200 times sweeter than sugarPregnancy: SafeFun fact: Aspartame cannot be used for baking or cooking as it becomes unstable when subjected to heat. (Lesson: Don't microwave Diet Coke).

Aspartame has caused the most controversy of all the sugar substitutes. It has been rumored to have been originally developed as a rat poison (however, like most sweeteners, it was discovered by accident), and was further subjected to a storm of internet-generated controversy dating back to the late '90s. While aspartame should be avoided by people diagnosed with phenylketonuria, a rare hereditary disease, allegations that aspartame causes lupus, seizures, cancer or brain tumors, or is dangerous to diabetics, are simply not supported by current research. Numerous organizations, including the European Scientific Committee for Food (SCF), the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) of the World Health Organization, Health Canada, and the FDA all concur that aspartame is safe for consumers.

Cyclamate

Products: Sucaryl, Sweet'N Low (Canada), Sugar Twin (Canada)Sweetness: 30 times sweeter than sugarPregnancy: Avoid when pregnantFun fact: Cyclamate was discovered by accident when graduate student Michael Sveda noticed a sweet taste on his cigarette after placing it down on a lab work bench.

Cyclamate remains banned in the U.S. since its incarceration in the 1970s, despite being available in over 55 countries, including Canada (although only as a tabletop sweetener). Back in 2000, the manufacturer of cyclamate submitted a petition for its re-approval into the U.S. on the grounds that the prior ban was due to an old study on rats from which results have not since been reproduced. The petition is currently being held under consideration by the FDA, while more research is gathered (although almost no new research is being done). Other organizations, including the European SCF, have revised previous opinions on cyclamate, concluding that the sugar substitute is safe for human consumption.

We've got a few more health effects of sweeteners you might want to know about...